--- description: A CDC report says that a total of 132 people in 31 states have been infected with Salmonella Cotham from their bearded dragons since late... title: Pet Bearded Dragons Are Giving Owners Salmonella image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Health](/section/health/) ## Health Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pet Bearded Dragons Are Giving Owners Salmonella by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 6:31 PM CUT by [Alexandra Sifferlin](/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Apr 25, 2014 6:31 PM CUT A CDC report says that a total of 132 people in 31 states have been infected with _Salmonella_ Cotham from their bearded dragons since late February 2012. No one has died from the outbreak, but 42% of the people infected have been hospitalized, and 58% of those infected are kids ages five and under. Bearded dragons are desert animals that can grow to about 20 inches long, the Associated Press [reports](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FMED%5FSALMONELLA%5FBEARDED%5FDRAGONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined"). The can sell from $70 to $100 at pet stores. Even though the pets can look healthy, they may be spreading bacteria. CDC officials say owners should make sure their hands are well washed after handling their pets, and they should be kept away from small kids. \[[_AP_](http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US%5FMED%5FSALMONELLA%5FBEARDED%5FDRAGONS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/77578/pet-bearded-dragons-are-giving-owners-salmonella/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/77578/pet-bearded-dragons-are-giving-owners-salmonella/"},"headline":"Pet Bearded Dragons Are Giving Owners Salmonella","datePublished":"2014-04-25T18:31:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:30:40.955Z","description":"A CDC report says that a total of 132 people in 31 states have been infected with Salmonella Cotham from their bearded dragons since late...","url":"https://time.com/77578/pet-bearded-dragons-are-giving-owners-salmonella/","keywords":["Salmonella"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/77578/pet-bearded-dragons-are-giving-owners-salmonella/","name":"Pet Bearded Dragons Are Giving Owners Salmonella"}}]}] ```